NOAA BUOY TO ENHANCE STORM FORECASTS
IN NORTHWEST

Nov. 30, 2004 — A 3-Meter Weather Buoy has been deployed at Tillamook, Ore., as part of NOAA’s Coastal Storms Initiative’s Pacific Northwest Pilot Program. NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The pilot region includes the lower Columbia River and adjacent parts of the Oregon and Washington coasts. Together with other Coastal Storms projects currently underway, the buoy will result in improved storm forecasts for the region, including heavy surf advisories and coastal flood warnings.

“Carefully placed buoys can provide the critical data – atmospheric and ocean temperature, wind; wave heights and more - we need to improve coastal forecasts,” said Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “This pilot program allows us to all another gap in our ring of buoys around our country.”

Data from the buoy will also support other Coastal Storms projects, including an improved wave forecast model for the Columbia River Bar, which is treacherous to navigate and a circulation model for the lower Columbia River.

The Coastal Storms Program is a nationwide effort led by NOAA to lessen the impact of storms on coastal communities. To accomplish this goal, NOAA is working with other agencies to develop a large suite of new and improved tools, data, information, forecast models, and training for coastal communities.

The buoy was built, tested and deployed by NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center located at Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi. It was deployed into the Pacific off Oregon on Nov. 11.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.